Silver Spring, MD – Montgomery County planning staff today finalized a report
for the County Council that presents a snapshot of the nearly 700 faith-based
institutions in the county and details the challenges they face when applying
to relocate or expand. The Planning Board approved the report on July 19.
Planning staff conducted the survey at the request of the
Council, which last year asked for the report to update a decade-old report of
the county’s faith-based organizations. In this survey, staff spelled out the
social service functions of the institutions as well as their changing needs in
a growing and urbanizing county.
The number of
faith-based organizations in Montgomery County grew 37 percent since 1997,
when the last survey was conducted. The report points out that the
county can expect a continued increase as faith-based institutions seek to
serve a more multi-cultural populace. As “once-in-a-lifetime developers,”
moreover, the organizations face unique challenges when they seek to build or
expand, the report found.
To better serve those organizations, the county might
include representatives from faith-based organizations in long-range planning
efforts; improve coordination among county agencies involved in planning and
permitting; examine county zoning policies to ensure potential new sites for
religious institutions are adequate and compatible with surrounding land uses;
and create staff – in the Planning Department or within a nonprofit
organization – to support the County Executive’s new ombudsman in helping
faith-based and nonprofit representatives better navigate the planning and
development review process.
The report specified the social role of the county’s
faith-based organizations, which provide
vital services, from worship to counseling to day care, to congregants and
county residents. Demand for those services is likely to increase with the
county’s population growth.
The County Council is expected to consider the report in
September or later this fall.